EducationB.G.S., University of Michigan
J.D., Baylor University, School of Law

Experience38 years practicing law in Tarrant County.
14 years service as Pro Tem Judge in Municipal Courts.
6 years service as Probate Court Master for Probate Courts 1 & 2.
17 years service as Court Administrator for this court. See website for details.

Open access to the courts is essential in all matters, whether they are civil or criminal. As a former night court prosecutor, I have always thought that we should find a way to extend our hours beyond the standard 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. for hearings on uncontested matters. The logistics and security concerns would be difficult, but it should be considered.

When elected I will utilize the services of the Associate Judge more. As the current Court Administrator for this court I know the staff members, the demands made upon them, and high level of performance they achieve.

I believe that the current campaign financing and reporting rules go a long way in providing transparency on these matters. The fact is that judges in Texas are elected and they have to have a way to finance the campaign. Information on campaign contributors, party and attorney involvement, and court rulings, including fee orders, are all available to the public.

Educating the public on all the things we do in this court and how they can take simple steps to help their loved ones avoid needless costs and delays, as well as protecting their own rights and freedoms.

EducationTexas Wesleyan University School of Law - Fort Worth, Texas (now known as Texas A&M School of Law), graduated in 2000;
Guardianship Ad Litem Certification

ExperienceOver 17 yrs in probate, guardianship, mental health and civil litigation cases heard by the Probate Courts and 17 yrs business management experience which is important in the management of a court with a $2.3M budget and 12 employees.

Our probate courts already do a great job of helping low income residents get answers to their non-legal questions relating to a probate, guardianship or mental health matter. The courts are very cooperative when such individuals choose to represent themselves prose.They also appoint attorney ad litems to potential wards in probate, guardianship and mental health cases.

Probate Court No. 1 appears to run efficiently however if elected I would utilize the Associate Judge to ensure there is quicker access to non-contested matters and I would bring back uncontested hearings at our sub-courthouses to give more access to the citizens in their own neighborhoods.

All Judge's should strictly adhere to the law and never rule based on the emotions or parties in the case. One way I intend to ensure that I maintain such impartiality is to end all conferences in the Judge's chamber. This way I will be required to face the parties while discussing their case, ensuring that I remain impartial and they are directly involved in the process

The most pressing issue facing this Probate Court is the caseload which clearly impacts its timeliness in dealing with both contested and non-contested matters. I would address this issue by automatically setting matters for final prove ups to motivate the attorneys to move the case along, I would also utilize the Associate Judge in uncontested dockets which would leave me open to deal with more complex trial matters in a timely fashion, and I would review guardianship cases more closely to make determinations about the ones that need to be terminated which would reduce the court's caseload.

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